How is technology helping energy consultancies to evolve?
Businesses are facing new challenges when it comes to their energy strategy, which means that they’re looking for Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs) to support them with more than just procurement. That’s why more TPIs are turning to technology to help them to evolve.
In the past, the main reason that businesses worked with TPIs was to ensure that they got the best deal when choosing an energy contract. But energy is becoming more of a focus for many organisations, with energy legislation like the Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting (SECR) scheme and increasing pressure from customers and stakeholders alike driving more businesses to focus on energy efficiency. And as energy bills become more complex, organisations also need external support to determine whether they’re paying more than they should be.
With business customers expecting so much more from their brokers, TPIs are facing a dilemma: how can we expand the services we offer, without massively expanding our resource? This is where the right tech solution can help TPIs to boost their offering and boost their customer base as a result.
Where can technology make the most difference?
In the current economic environment, growing numbers of businesses are trying to reduce their costs wherever possible, and energy can be a significant expenditure. While savvy energy procurement is a great way to keep your customers’ energy bills down, when you’re striving to meet all of their needs you should also be checking to ensure they’re not overpaying. On average, 3% of an organisation’s utility bills is invoiced incorrectly, so you could unearth some real savings for your customers if you can offer them an invoice validation service. Software is the most straightforward way for you to add this service to your offering – SystemsLink’s software performs over 100 separate validation checks, for example, comprehensively checking customer bills within a matter of minutes.
Businesses also need your help to make the most of their energy data, which many are collecting, but few are utilising to their full advantage. This is where monitoring and reporting software can be an extremely valuable tool to have in your arsenal as a TPI, because it can enable you to provide your customers an at-a-glance view of their current consumption and identify areas where efficiency could be improved. Look for a solution that provides customisable reports to give your customers optimum insight into their data. With your support, businesses can use this information to cut the amount of energy they waste and reduce their energy bills.
Monitoring and reporting software can also make it easier for your business customers to comply with energy legislation, which is likely to affect growing numbers of organisations as we move towards net-zero. SystemsLink’s software, for example, has modules designed specifically to streamline the compliance process for particular energy legislation, from SECR and ESOS to DECs. And with energy reporting schemes like SECR prompting many businesses to take action to reduce their emissions, software that provides your customers with an up-to-date view of their usage can be invaluable when it comes to identifying opportunities for improved energy efficiency and measuring the success of any efficiency actions they choose to take.
Future-proof your TPI with SystemsLink
As your business customers’ expectations increase, SystemsLink’s software is designed to boost your offering so you can meet their needs now and in the future. Our cutting-edge software enables you to monitor and report on your customers’ energy data and validate their invoices, so you can help them to identify waste or overspend and make savings.
By outsourcing these services to SystemsLink, there’s no extra burden on your in-house team – but as our services are completely white-labelled, your customers will give you the credit for all of the additional value they’re getting. To find out more about how SystemsLink could help your TPI to thrive, call us on 01234 988 855.
